Respiratory infections regulated blood cells IFN-β-PD-L1 pathway in pediatric asthma

Background Respiratory infections, in general, and rhinovirus infection specifically are the main reason for asthma exacerbation in children and programmed cell death protein 1 ligand (PD-L1) expression inhibits T cell responses. Objective Could the interferon (IFN) type I expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) improve disease exacerbation in pediatric asthma? Results Here we found increased level of PD-L1 messenger RNA (mRNA) in total blood cells isolated from preschool children with virus-induced asthma, with lower percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 second and with high serum levels of the C-reactive-protein. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance These data indicate that, in the presence of infection in the airways of preschool children, worse asthma is associated with induced PD-L1 mRNA expression in blood cells. Further, type I IFN, IFN-beta, a cytokine that is involved in the clearance of infections, was found to be associated with a better lung function in asthmatic children. These data suggest that improving peripheral blood IFN type I expression in PBMCs in pediatric asthma could improve disease exacerbation due to suppressing PD-L1 expression in blood cells.